Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish BehaviorNo matter what we do, however kind or generous our deeds may seem, a hidden motive of selfishness lurks—or so science has claimed for years. This book, whose publication promises to be a major scientific event, tells us differently. In Unto Others philosopher Elliott Sober and biologist David Sloan Wilson demonstrate once and for all that unselfish behavior is in fact an important feature of both biological and human nature. Their book provides a panoramic view of altruism throughout the animal kingdom—from self-sacrificing parasites to insects that subsume themselves in the superorganism of a colony to the human capacity for selflessness—even as it explains the evolutionary sense of such behavior. Explaining how altruistic behavior can evolve by natural selection, this book finally gives credence to the idea of group selection that was originally proposed by Darwin but denounced as heretical in the 1960s. With their account of this controversy, Sober and Wilson offer a detailed case study of scientific change as well as an indisputable argument for group selection as a legitimate theory in evolutionary biology. Unto Others also takes a novel evolutionary approach in explaining the ultimate psychological motives behind unselfish human behavior. Developing a theory of the proximate mechanisms that most likely evolved to motivate adaptive helping behavior, Sober and Wilson show how people and perhaps other species evolved the capacity to care for others as a goal in itself. A truly interdisciplinary work that blends biology, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology, this book will permanently change not just our view of selfless behavior but also our understanding of many issues in evolutionary biology and the social sciences. |
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Contents
Benthams Corpse | 1 |
Altruism as a Biological Concept | 17 |
A Unified Evolutionary Theory of Social Behavior | 55 |
Adaptation and Multilevel Selection | 101 |
Group Selection and Human Behavior | 132 |
Human Groups as Adaptive Units | 159 |
Motives as Proximate Mechanisms | 199 |
Three Theories of Motivation | 223 |
Common terms and phrases
action adaptive altruistic appear argument average avoid become behavior beliefs benefit biological causes Chapter claim common concept concerning consider cultures described desires determine discussed effect egoism empathy evolution evolutionary evolutionary game theory evolve example exist expect experience explain fact favored feel fitness force frequency function genes genetic group selection group-level Hamilton hedonism heritability host human hypothesis idea imagine important includes increase individuals interactions involves less means mechanisms moral motives multilevel selection natural selection offspring organism pain parents perform person phenotypic pleasure pluralism population possible predictions present principle problem produce psychological question reason relative require respect result rewards selection theory selfish sense sex ratio single social social norms societies sometimes species structure subjects suggest Suppose thing tion trait true types ultimate ultimate desires units variation
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior ISSR collection Issue 218 of ISSR library International Society for Science and Religion Collection |
| Authors | Elliot Sober, David Sloan Wilson |
| Editors | Elliot Sober, David Sloan Wilson |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint, revised |
| Publisher | Harvard University Press, 1999 |
| ISBN | 0674930479, 9780674930476 |
| Length | 394 pages |
| Subjects | › › Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy Psychology / General Psychology / Social Psychology Science / Life Sciences / Evolution |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |